page_title: Richard Ash Kingsford
section_title: Personal life
hierarchical_section_title: Richard Ash Kingsford / Personal life
caption_attribution_description: English: The headstone of the grave of Richard Ash Kingsford, former Mayor of the city of Cairns, Queensland, Australia, and Grandfather of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith. The inscription has been digitally enhanced to improve readability.
context_page_description: Richard Ash Kingsford was an alderman and mayor of Brisbane Municipal Council, a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland, Australia, and a mayor of Cairns, Queensland.
context_section_description: Kingsford married Sarah Southerden in the December quarter of 1851 at Bridge, Kent, England. The Kingsfords emigrated to Sydney in 1852 and went on to Brisbane in 1854. Their marriage produced four children;
  Catherine Mary (b. 1857 in Brisbane)
  Emily Jane (b. 1859 in Brisbane)
  Caroline Elizabeth (b. 1861 in Brisbane)
  Richard Arthur (b. 1863 in Ashford, Kent)
  Kingsford was a Baptist and a lay preacher and one of the founders of the Wharf Street Baptist Church, now the Baptist City Tabernacle.
  Following the birth of Caroline in 1861, the family returned to England, where daughter Emily Jane died in 1862, and son Richard Arthur was born in 1863 (both in Ashford, Kent). They remained in England for a period and Richard, Sarah and the 3 surviving children were recorded in the 1871 census as living at Edenbridge, Kent. Richard's occupation was given as Australian Merchant. The family returned to Brisbane in October 1871.
  On 17 April 1878, while living at The Springs, Tingalpa, his eldest daughter Catherine married William Charles Smith. Because of the confusions caused by having such a common name as Smith, the couple adopted the surname Kingsford-Smith (or Kingsford Smith) and were the parents of noted Australian aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith.
  On 8 April 1885, daughter Caroline married William Swallow, son of Thomas Swallow in Port Melbourne, Victoria.
  Richard and Sarah moved to Cairns around 1883, where son-in-law William Smith was working as a bank manager. Some time after Kingsford's failure in the 1888 election in Cairns, the couple moved to Tasmania. Sarah died at Fairview House, Launceston, Tasmania on 13 September 1890.
  On 31 August 1892, Kingsford remarried; his second wife being Emma Jane Dexter in Launceston, Tasmania. The couple had a daughter, Dorothy (b. 20 June 1893 in Tasmania).
  Kingsford returned to Cairns in 1895 where he built a magnificent cedar and hardwood home called "Fairview" on the prominent Munros Hill in Mooroobool. It had 28 bedrooms and was completed in 1896. Kingsford spent his retirement in the home, until his death on 2 January 1902 at "Invicta", the residence of the Kingsford Smiths (his daughter and son-in-law) in Cairns, North Queensland, Australia at age 80. He was buried in the Cairns Pioneer Cemetery in McLeod Street.
  Kingsford's widow Emma died on 8 September 1943 in Buenos Aires.
caption: Headstone for Richard Ash Kingsford in McLeod Street pioneer cemetery, Cairns
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